Orders are available for pick-up at Restaurant Nicholas at 160 Route 35 South Red Bank, NJ 07701 during the following times:
Monday: 9:30-3:30; Tuesday – Friday: 9:15am – 9:00pm; Saturday: 11:00am – 9:00pm; Sunday: Closed
$75.00 $40.00
2021 was a hot draught year where the mountain AVAs in Napa were in the best position to thrive. With their higher elevations and cooler temperatures, growing seasons were extended and complexity and concentration went through the roof. Almost uniformly, the wineries with holdings in the most coveted mountain sub-regions turned out deep, powerful wines infused with dark fruit cores and sumptuous tannins. Most commanded $75+/bottle. But luckily, I have Pritchard Hill winemaker Ry Richards on speed dial.
A Nicholas Wines favorite, Ry capitalized on the power and potential of mountain Cabernet in 2021. His newest release is easily the best he’s ever fared with his Carl Roy Atlas Peak bottling. It’s a tiny lot – just 170 cases were produced – but it was enough that Ry could still cook up something special. He crafted a wound-up, wildly complex wine that demands attention (and a big Bordeaux glass if you have one).
The 2021 Atlas Peak Cabernet is a classic. It’s black in color, with a dynamic nose of cassis, cedar, and chocolate-tinged purple fruit. The wine is fabulously concentrated with a firm, solid finish that speaks to its potential for considerable aging. Ry hit this one out of the park.
In stock
96 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate – 96 Points, Wine & Spirits – 96 Points, James Suckling
This wine continues to get mentioned amongst the Super Tuscan elite, Ornellaia and Sassacaia – and in a lot of the instances, people are preferring the wines of the “little guy”, Grattamacco. Their 2018 Bolgheri Superiore is the big brother of the wine that first Nicholas Wines by storm, and became our all-time Super Tuscan best seller. This is armed with two 96-point reviews from both Wine & Spirits and Parker’s Wine Advocate. The latter called the wine, “finely nuanced” as well as “quite elegant and crisp.”
90 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Xavier Vignon’s brand spanking new CDR 100% is a thing of beauty. It’s already got a blessing from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate who described this wine as, “Full-bodied, concentrated and supple”. This is a gorgeous and intricate blend that features all of the Southern Rhone appellations. This year, the blend was 40% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, 15% Syrah, 7% Cinsault, 7% Marselan, 6% Terret Noir. Nobody can do it like the mad scientist, Xavier Vignon.
100 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
“Needing plenty of air to show at its best, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is a sensational, gorgeous Napa Valley Cabernet that delivers the goods like only this region can. Pure Cabernet magic on the nose, with deep blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, lead pencil, and a kiss of spring flowers as well as a beautiful Pessac-Leognan-like scorched earth character, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, silky tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. It’s one of those wines that builds incrementally on the palate and it’s only after the second or third sip that you realize how special this wine is. It also offers that rare mix of power and elegance that’s the hallmark of all great wines. It needs a couple of hours in the decanter if drinking any time soon. Hats off to Paul Hobbs for an incredible Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.“
93 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – 93 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
“Vignon’s 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape delivers even more than I hoped for based on a previous sample. Hints of garrigue, roses, cherries and raspberries appear on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, silky and long, with an intense, almost briny finish. The assemblage is 50% Grenache, 10% each Mourvèdre and Syrah, plus smaller proportions of seven other permitted varieties, while the élevage includes foudres, demi-muids, concrete and wooden tanks, plus terracotta amphorae.”